Dear Individual,
"Whenever it is required, let's get away from this insipid mentality of "managing""

Well, can we practice your forestry management strategy in the parks of your suburb first can we? And see how that works out for you now that the fire commissioner is saying no time of year is 'safe' to burn off. Just run and tell the commissioner that you're volunteering your suburb. There's a good chap.

Mx,

I'm sure that you're not suggesting that undergrowth and weeds and dead timber should accumulate under trees across vast forests ?

Instead of burns, is it possible to gather and remove such detritus on a cyclical basis, say once every five years ? I believe this has been done for hundreds of years in some European forests (Solzhenitsyn writes [in 'August 1914'] of this being done in East Prussia).

Of course, it would be never-ending work on a large scale. But it could be an steady earner. Plant material could be mulched, and timber turned into sawdust to be mixed with mulch or potting soil.

Just a thought :)

Joe

Loudmouth 2,
In the natural system that applied for 40,000 years, mild burning recycled the litter, releasing nutrients to the trees and the herbs and grasses that fed the animals. Now the litter becomes mulch that sickens the trees, suppresses the herbs and grasses and promotes the scrub that feeds the megafires.

LOUDMOUTH: check the comparative size of Australia's bush vs our population compared to whatever European size vs population. What you are suggesting is just not possible in our vast continent, and I'm not suggesting that we just let it build, but that we burn it when we can and NOT BLAME CITY GREENIES for the very climate-change induced weather pattern changes and resulting fire-bans they've been warning about for decades!

LITTLE: do you have links to support that ecosystem change you're mentioning? I mean it seems rational enough, but I just want to confirm there's some solid science behind it.

Max Green,
There's a wealth of scientific data supporting the changes. Have a look in the Bibliography of Firestick Ecology - fairdinkum science in plain English by Vic Jurskis.

Max & Little,

Okay, certainly cool-burn whenever it's possible, and remove major undergrowth and litter when it's not. Of course, fires started by lightning strikes are always going to be unavoidable, but surely a lot of effort has to go into minimising the damage to forests and national parks wherever possible ?

Cheers,

Joe